Betty Field
Real Name: Elizabeth Field Aliases: Betty Field, Genene Fields, Connie Sue Bond Wanted For: Abduction, Passport Fraud Missing Since: October 1984 Case Details: Betty Field is wanted for abducting her son Christophe Day from his father William "Bill" Day. The couple married in 1976 and their son was born in 1980. Despite their initial happiness, problems began to plague the couple's marriage. In 1983, they began divorce proceedings. Bill's lawyer suggested that he should be specific regarding visitation rights. However, he trusted Betty's word when she told him that he could see Christophe whenever he wanted. The divorce became final on May 14, 1984. Bill soon found that his trust had been misplaced. Within weeks, he had to take Betty to court because she refused to let him see Christophe. She was ordered to honor Bill's visitation rights. Despite this, she still did not abide by the ruling and refused to let him see their son. The only way he could see Christophe was by visiting him at his preschool. As the weeks went by, Bill only saw his son at Betty's whim. He felt that he had no choice but to keep taking her to court. Finally, in October of 1984, a judge threatened to jail Betty if she continued to deny Bill's rights. Three days later, she disappeared, taking Christophe with her. Bill then began an intense and frustrating search for his son. He started by watching the home of one of Betty's relatives. He even paid the garbage collector $20 a week to let him go through the trash. After a year, his patience began to pay off. He found a letter written by his ex-mother-in-law that was postmarked Dallas, Texas. He surmised that she had moved there in order to be near Betty and Christophe. Two years passed; Bill was granted legal custody of Christophe and finally obtained an address for Betty's mother. He took four days off from work and arrived in Dallas on October 26, 1987. He picked this date because Betty's birthday was October 28 and Christophe's was October 30. He figured that the two would visit her mother on one of those days. Throughout the day, he staked out the home. For a brief moment during the night, it seemed as though his search was about to end. In the rear kitchen of the house, he saw his ex-mother-in-law. He then saw the figure of a small child, whom he presumed to be Christophe. However, he decided not to confront them because he believed she would cause a scene and traumatize Christophe. He figured he would get a better chance to take him during the next four days. Sadly, he was mistaken; when he returned to the house the next day, his son was gone. Four more days of watching would yield nothing. Back in Maryland, Bill was desperate and decided to call Betty's relative (whose trash he went through). Bill said that he did not want to take Christophe but just wanted to visit him. He also said that he knew where they were. Betty (through the relative) replied that if he knew where they were, he should come get them. She promptly disappeared again. Six months later, he returned to Dallas. He managed to locate his son's school, only to find that Christophe was no longer in attendance. Unfortunately, his school records had been turned over to Betty. Sympathetic to Bill's plight, Christophe's teacher questioned one of her students. He told her that he had last seen Christopher the week before, playing soccer in the park. As a result, Bill was able to identify the YMCA that sponsored the soccer team, along with the team's coach. Although many had been sympathetic to Bill, the coach was unwilling to help him. A few days later, he found out that Betty had left Texas and went to Atlanta, Georgia. One important clue that Bill obtained was a photograph of his son with his soccer team. Surprisingly, Betty was in the picture as well. Unfortunately, Bill has not been able to find a trace of them since. Betty has been sighted in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. She speaks fluent French and holds French citizenship papers. Due to a legal quirk, she is not wanted on charges of parental child abduction because she has never been served with Bill's custody papers. However, she is wanted on federal charges of passport fraud. Extra Notes: This segment first aired on the May 13, 1992 episode. Results: Captured. Bill's investigations would later reveal that she had fled to France with Christophe. She was eventually located by Bill after a seven year search. Sadly, before his father could find him, Christophe suffered leukemia and tragically passed away in 1998 at the age of 18. A year later, Bill located his ex-wife and learned of his son's﻿ death. Links: None ---- Category:Maryland Category:1984 Category:Abduction Category:Disappearances Category:Captured Category:School-Related Cases